Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Sports

Cricket World Cup launched with quirky opening ceremony

by

Fans of Indian cricket team show their support during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 opening event at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Thursday. REUTERS

Fans of Indian cricket team show their support during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 opening event at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Thursday. REUTERS

Christchurch: Children mingled with cricketing greats in “backyard” matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with morris dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened today with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch.

Thousands of fans crammed leafy Hagley Park to see the launch of the first World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in 23 years, the formal part of which began with a lone bagpiper and ended with a booming fireworks display –he biggest in the city’s history.

The World Cup is the largest event Christchurch has hosted since an earthquake in February 2011 devastated the city’s centre — only a few hundred yards from where Thursday’s festivities took place, claiming the lives of 185 people.

The physical scars of that disaster still remain in the many vacant lots where buildings once stood but the people of Christchurch showed Thursday the city’s spirit remains undimmed.

Mayor Leanne Dalziell said Christchurch was preparing to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup when the earthquake struck, toppling hotels and wrecking venues, forcing matches to be allocated to other centres.

She told fans Thursday “we’re back!”

New Zealand prime minister John Key said the earthquake robbed Christchurch of the chance of hosting the Rugby World Cup and it was “only fitting” that it should be chosen to host the opening of the Cricket World Cup. He said the opening ceremony was a way of telling the world that Christchurch is “back in business.”

International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson unveiled the Cricket World Cup trophy, saying it was a symbol of the ICC’s values of excellence, integrity and inclusion.

Hagley Oval, which will host Saturday’s opening match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, has hosted first class cricket matches since 1867 but was extensively redeveloped since to become the city’s international cricket venue after the earthquake wrecked Lancaster Park.

Thursday’s ceremony, which set the stage for the Cricket World Cup, celebrating the love of cricket and the cultures of the competing nations, equally celebrated Christchurch’s resilience as it literally lifted itself from ruins to host the opening and opening match of cricket’s four-yearly festival.

As many as 80 children were joined by famous players in games of backyard cricket played on four giant ovals, divided into 14 individual grounds representing the 14 nations taking part in the world tournament. Each of the four areas was overlooked by a stage on which cultural performers from Sri Lanka and India, West Indian steel bands, Scottish and Irish dancers and indigenous Maori haka groups — in total more than 1,000 participants, performed for enthralled crowds.

The captains of the teams currently in New Zealand were presented to the crowd.

South Africa captain A.B. de Villiers told fans that while the Proteas had never won the World Cup “we’re as well prepared as we can be and we look forward to taking the trophy home.”

Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza, whose team plays South Africa in its opening match on Sunday, said while the odds were against his team “the good thing about this tournament is the team that plays the best cricket on the day will win the match.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his team’s opening match against New Zealand on Saturday is “going to be a tough contest, it’s going to be an even contest and whoever plays the best cricket will win.”

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who lives in Christchurch said “having the first game of the World Cup here in Christchurch after all it’s been through is fantastic.”

“I think it’s a wide open World Cup,” he said. “The nature of wickets we’ll see in Australia and New Zealand are pure wickets and that brings in the match-winners. Every team has match-winners and they can turn the game in 10 or 15 overs.”

(PTI)

India to play FIFA World Cup qualifier March 12

by

2018 FIFA World Cup

New Delhi: The Indian football team will play their home match of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati March 12.

Round 1 will be played on a home-and-away format. The match will mark the debut for new head coach Stephen Constantine during his second stint in India. The return leg is slated for March 17.

The draw for the same will take place Feb 10.

(IANS)

Ishant Sharma ruled out of World Cup after failing fitness test: reports

by

File photo.

File photo.

Mumbai: Ishant Sharma has reportedly failed his fitness test for the World Cup and will be replaced by Mohit Sharma. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is set to play in the quadrennial tournament.

While there is no confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it seems Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja will win the race to be fit for India’s title defence.

An NDTV report says that Ishant didn’t bowl a single delivery when the team practiced in Adelaide today while Bhuvneshwar was seen going through his paces pretty comfortably.

The report quotes Bhuvneshwar as saying: “I have fully recovered now. Yes there was a niggle in the One days and didn’t play the tests too. But now I have recovered. Last 3-4 days were really good for me and I’m looking forward to playing the World Cup.”

Another report, carried by Zee News, quotes a BCCI official as saying: “We have officially written to the ICC asking for a replacement. Now, it’s up to them to decide.”

If Bhuvneshwar still misses out, then he will be replaced by Dhawal Kulkarni.

(Agencies)

Amitabh Bachchan to make his commentary debut for India vs Pakistan World Cup match

by

According to a report in 'The Asian Age', Amitabh will join Kapil Dev and Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box at Adelaide on February 15 for the much-awaited match.

According to a report in ‘The Asian Age’, Amitabh will join Kapil Dev and Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box at Adelaide on February 15 for the much-awaited match.

Mumbai: An India vs Pakistan match is never short of drama and to add to that intensity for the World Cup encounter at The Gabba on February 15 will be India’s most iconic film personality – Amitabh Bachchan.

According to a report in the The Asian Age, Amitabh will join India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev and commentary expert Harsha Bhogle as the commentary team for the much-awaited match of the showpiece event.

The newspaper quoted film-maker R Balki confirming the news. He said that Amitabh’s commetary debut will double as promotion for his movie Shamitabh, besides exciting millions on both sides of the border.

“Mr Bachchan’s voice is the star of my film Shamitabh. The plot revolves around the baritone. There’s nothing that Mr. Bachchan’s voice can’t do. I think two voices, Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan, unite India and Pakistan better than anything else.”

India lose, fail to reach tri-series final

by

Perth: In what was being being touted as the dress rehearsal for the World Cup, India miserably failed to reach the tri-series final Down Under as they lost the virtual semi-final by three wickets to England at the WACA here Friday. England will now play the final against hosts Australia here Sunday.

India failed to win even a single game out of four in the league stage with one One-Day International (ODI), against Australia, being washed out.

Put in to bat, India folded up for a mere 200 in 48.1 overs with opener Ajinkya Rahane top scoring with 73. Though England were made to struggle by the reigning World Champions, a 125-run sixth-wicket partnership between James Taylor (82) and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler (67) guided them home in only 46.5 overs.

In the morning, Rahane was the standout performer. His and Shikhar Dhawan’s (38) opening-wicket partnership of 83 runs was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful Indian batting performance.

Rahane and Dhawan were slow off the blocks, playing with a lot of caution. But they gained confidence after negotiating the initial overs. Rahane was more aggressive of the two and lived a charmed life with most of his lofted shots landing in no-man’s land.

But following the first dismissal of Dhawan in the 21st over, India lost all other wickets like a pack of cards. Virat Kohli’s (8) wicket in the 28th over opened the floodgates with Suresh Raina (1) perishing just two overs later as India were reduced to 107/3.

Ambati Rayudu (12) looked sublime briefly but failed to capitalise on his start. Rahane’s wicket, in the 36th over, put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (17), who also failed to cope with the pressure and was dismissed with the score at 164.

Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (5) and Axar Patel (1) fell in the space of a run as India was reduced to 165/9.

However, Mohammed Shami (25) played a vital cameo in the end, adding 35 runs for the final wicket with Mohit Sharma (7 not out), to lend some respectability to India’s total. A few edges and some lusty blows from the bat of Shami helped India reach the 200-mark.

All English bowlers were amongst the wickets with Steven Finn taking three while Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali chipping in with two each.

England had bowled out India for 153 in the previous match and went on to win by nine wickets.

While bowling, India got the perfect start they needed to defend their meek total. Some good line-and-length bowling from Stuart Binny (3/33) and Mohit Sharma (2/36) saw England tottering at 66/5 by the 20th over.

However, Taylor and Buttler steadied the England ship by knocking around, taking the ones and twos. This kept the scoreboard ticking and also helped build their significant partnership which took the game away from India.

Taylor scored his fourth half-century playing in his 10th ODI while Buttler’s relatively aggressive innings made him reach his fifth half-century. Taylor patiently anchored the innings with a 122-ball knock which included four boundaries while Buttler stroked seven boundaries in his 78-ball innings.

By the time the two got out, England had already reached the 190s and were only a few runs away from the target which was achieved by the tail-enders.

Indian bowlers bowled well, restricting the run rate and picking up wickets but the score was too less to defend.

(IANS)

Rahane stands out as India bowled out for 200

by

© Getty Images

© Getty Images

Perth: Another dismal batting performance by India saw them being bowled out for 200 in 48.1 overs by England in a deciding clash of the ODI tri-series at the WACA here Friday.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane was the standout performer, scoring 73 off 101 balls. His and Shikhar Dhawan’s opening wicket partnership of 83 runs was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful performance.

Pacer Mohammed Shami (25) played a vital cameo in the end, adding 35 runs for the final wicket with Mohit Sharma (7 not out), to provide some respectability to India’s total.

Following the dismissal of Dhawan in the 21st over, India lost eight wickets for just 62 runs.

All the English bowlers were amongst the wickets with Steven Finn taking three wickets while Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali chipping in with two each.

England had bowled out India for 153 in their previous and went on to win by nine wickets.

Earlier, England captain Eoin Morgan put India into toss after winning the toss and India looked shaky from the outset.

Rahane and Dhawan were slow off the blocks, playing with the lot of caution. They gained confidence after negotiating the initial overs.

Rahane was the more aggressive of the two and lived a charmed life with most of his lofted shots, in the begginning, landing in no-man’s land.

Virat Kohli’s (8) wicket in the 28th over, opened the floodgates for England. Suresh Raina (1) perished just two overs later as India were reduced to 107 for three.

Ambati Rayudu (12) looked good briefly but failed to capitalise on his start. Rahane’s wicket soon after put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (17), who failed to cope with it and was dismissed with the score on 164.

Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (5) and Axar Patel (1) fell in the space of a run as India was reduced to 165 for nine.

A few edges and some lusty blows from the bat of Shami helped India reach the 200-mark.

The winner of the match will go on to face hosts Australia in the final.

Brief Scores: India 200 all out in 48.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 73, Shikhar Dhawan 38; Steven Finn 3/36, Moeen Ali 2/35) vs England

(IANS)

Sania-Bruno enter Australian Open semis

by

sania_bruno

Melbourne: Top-seeded mixed doubles duo Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares marched in to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, beating local pair Casey Dellacqua and John Peers 6-2, 6-2 in a last-eight match here Wednesday.

The Indo-Brazilian pair started the match on a bright note, breaking their opponents twice to claim the first set 6-2 in just 23 minutes at Melbourne Park.

They continued their ascendancy in the second set leading 4-2, going on to win the second set by an identical first set score, taking a mere 30 minutes to claim the second set on Court 2.

The victors hit 18 winners and committed 10 unforced errors on their way to victory. They are scheduled to play the winner of the quarter-final between third seeds Kristina Mladenovic of France and Canada’s Daniel Nestor and fifth seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia.

Meanwhile in boys’ singles, India’s Sumit Nagal went down to Australia’s Marc Polmans 1-6, 1-6 in the third round in just 45 minutes.

(IANS)

Australia beats England by 3 wickets in tri-series ODI

by

Steve Smith

by AP

Hobart: Stand-in captain Steve Smith made an unbeaten 102 to guide Australia to a tense three-wicket win over England in the tri-series one-day cricket international on Friday, clinching its place in the final.

Smith, who led Australia in an ODI for the first time in the absence of George Bailey – suspended for one match for an over-rate infraction – won the toss, bowled, and saw England make 303-8 in 50 overs, thanks to Ian Bell’s 141.

He then helped Australia explore its depth ahead of next month’s World Cup by marshaling a depleted batting order in a difficult run chase. Australia was without Bailey and frontline batsmen David Warner and Shane Watson – both with hamstring injuries – but paced its reply well, and reached 304-7 with one ball to spare.

Smith continues to tap a rich vein of batting form: He made 769 runs — a record tally — in the recent test series against India, and has three centuries and three half centuries in his last 10 one-day innings.

He came to the crease in the 12th over after Aaron Finish (32) and Shaun Marsh (45) gave Australia a sound start, putting on 76 for the first wicket at almost seven runs per over.

Smith then controlled the run chase, carrying his bat for the remainder of the innings. He reached a half century from 51 balls, and his century, his third in ODIs, from 93 balls.

Smith had support throughout the innings: Glenn Maxwell made 37 before recklessly sacrificing his wicket in the 27th over, and James Faulkner made 35. Australia’s required run-rate lagged stubbornly at more than a run a ball throughout the innings, until wicketkeeper Brad Haddin hit 42 from 29 balls to make the target more attainable.

But there was still tension for Australia when Haddin was out with seven runs still needed with 15 balls remaining. England substantially tightened its bowling and fielding, and the incoming batsman, Moises Henrique, couldn’t get the ball away while depriving Smith of the strike.

There seemed plenty of time for Australia but its tally of balls remaining dwindled without it making progress towards its target. It came to the last over needing five runs to win, a seemingly easy task, but was left to face a tense finish when Henriques was run out with two runs needed and three balls remaining.

Smith and his last partner, Mitchell Starc, completed the win with a ball to spare but the manner in which Australia closed out the second-highest run c6hase at Bellerive Oval was of some concern.

It’s recent chasing has been less well-organized than it would hope with the World Cup looming.

“It did get tight,” Smith said. “It was nice to get home in the end.

“The boys played well throughout the middle of the innings after we got away to a good start. We just had to cruise through the middle so we could go hard at the end.

“Brad (Haddin) came out and really took the pressure off. He cleared the fence a couple of times and hit some good boundaries.”

Earlier, England batted soundly after being sent in to bat. Bell’s 141 and Joe Root’s 69 set it up for a challenging total.

Bell followed his match-winning 88 not out against India on Tuesday with his fourth century in 149 one-dayers, putting on 113 for the first wicket with Moeen Ali (46), and 121 with Root for the third wicket before he was out in the 42nd over.

England didn’t fully capitalize on the foundation set by Bell, losing its last five wickets for 49 runs, including three wickets for two runs — with two run-outs — in the 50th over.

Indians out of mens, women's doubles, mixed doubles hopes alive

by

Leander Paes

Melbourne: The Indian contingent had a disappointing day in the men’s and women’s doubles competitions of the Australian Open, getting knocked out in their respective second round matches at the Melbourne Park Friday.

But Sania Mirza won her opening round match in mixed doubles to keep the country’s challenge alive.

In the women’s doubles contest, Sania and Chinese Taiei’s Hsieh Su-wei lost 6-7 (5), 4-6 against Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Polish Alicja Rosolska. However, the 28-year-old partnered Brazilian Bruno Soares to defeat the mixed doubles pair of Hungarian Timea Babos and American Eric Butorac 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3) to advance to the second round.

The Indo-South African pair of Paes and Raven Klaasen lost 6-2, 4-6, 1-6 to Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, while Bopanna and his Canadian partner Daniel Nestor went down 5-7, 3-6 to American Feliciano Lopez and Belarusian Max Mirnyi in the men’s doubles.

Paes-Klaasen started the match well, winning the first set and hit 29 winners but that wasn’t enough as Bolelli-Fognini outhit them with 31 winners. The Indo-South African pair made 21 unforced errors as compared to 22 by their opponents.

Bopanna-Nestor pair scored 25 winners as compared to 33 by Lopez-Mirnyi. The Indo-Canadian pair made 10 unforced errors against Lopez-Mirnyi, who made 12 unforced errors.

The Indo-Chinese Taipei pair of Sania and Su-Wei scored only 29 winners as compared to 45 fired by Dabrowski and Rosolska, who also made 23 unforced errors while Sania-Su-Wei did 18 unforced errors.

(IANS)

SC says Gurunath Meiyappan was involved in betting, tells Srinivasan to choose between CSK and BCCI top job

by

Supreme Court, reading out a 130-page order, has said that BCCI functions are public functions, amenable to judicial law. N. Srinivasan has to choose between his IPL team Chennai Super Kings and BCCI president’s post.

File photo of Gurunath Meiyappan.

File photo of Gurunath Meiyappan.

by Soumitra Bose, NDTVSports

After almost 18 months of deliberations on the 2013 Indian Premier League betting and match-fixing scandal, the Supreme Court has said that N. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals were involved in betting. However, it also said that Srinivasan was not guilty of cover-up and “charges against him, at best, be regarded as suspicion.” It also said that “BCCI functions are public functions, amenable to judicial law.”

However, the top court has said that conflict of interest issues remain and Srinivasan has to choose between his IPL team Chennai Super Kings and the cricket Board. Srinivasan is also the first chairman of ICC.

Srinivasan is seeking a re-election as BCCI president and Thursday’s order will be a shot in the arm. In the wake of the IPL probe, Srinivasan was stood down last year by the top court from his position as Board chief. The BCCI has already postponed its Annual General Meeting and elections twice. As per its constitution, the AGM should have been held by September 30 last year. Srinivasan is seeking another term, this time as a candidate backed by the BCCI’s East Zone units.

The Supreme Court-appointed probe committee, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, had in its first report indicted Meiyappan of betting and sharing team information. Srinivasan had mentioned that Gurunath was a mere ‘cricket enthusiast.’ Srinivasan was earlier charged with conflict of interest and not taking adequate action against involved in ‘misdemeanours.’

The case dates back to June 2013 when Aditya Verma, secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), raised charges of a conflict of interest in the BCCI’s original two-member inquiry panel for the IPL corruption issue.

A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.

The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Raj Kundra, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players.

(With inputs from A. Vaidyanathan)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives